Slewing bridge material handling apparatus capable of continuous material feeding during moving and slewing

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a material handling apparatus, commonly known as a slewing bridge shiploader or more specifically a linear shiploader, having front and rear pivotal supports. The front end support of the bridge is movable along a linear track extending transversely to the bridge and the rear support is movable in a direction perpendicular to the linear track. The bridge contains a conveyor running along its length which is fed from the rear end of the bridge. The linear track supporting the front end is oriented parallel to the ship or carrier to be loaded, and the linear track supporting the rear end is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the ship. As the front end of the bridge moves along the linear track in a direction parallel to the ship being loaded, the rear end simultaneously pivots and moves longitudinally in a direction perpendicular to the ship being loaded. A movable trestle carrying a second conveyor is linked to the rear end of the bridge for concomitant movement with the bridge. The terminating end of the second conveyor is oriented above the rear end pivot point of the bridge. As the rear end of the bridge pivots and moves longitudinally the trestle moves concomitantly with it maintaining the orientation of the second conveyor with the bridge conveyor, therefore ensuring continuous feeding of the bridge mounted conveyor while the bridge mounted conveyor moves longitudinally and pivotally relative to the second conveyor.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a material handling apparatus,specifically a slewing bridge shiploader but known generally as a linearshiploader or linear loader, having front and rear pivotal supports. Thefront support of the bridge is powered to move along a straight orlinear track extending in a direction parallel to the axis of the shipto be loaded and the rear support is movable along a rear track whichextends in a direction perpendicular to or approximately perpendicularto said straight track. The bridge contains a conveyor running parallelto its axis which is fed at the rear end of the bridge from anotherconveyor in line with or at an angle to the rear track. The presentinvention addresses and solves the problems associated with continuousfeeding of such a bridge mounted conveyor when the rear support for saidbridge is moving both longitudinally and pivotally.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Material handlers of the type contemplated by the present invention areusually extremely large and complex, requiring significant investmentsin time, material and engineering. Such apparatus are normallyassociated with shiploaders, and particularly known as linearshiploaders or linear loaders. Such an apparatus is described in U.S.Pat. No. 3,856,159 issued to the inventor Dec. 24, 1974, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. The linear shiploader hasbecome very popular and is used in a number of rather massiveshiploading installations throughout the world today. Heretofore, all ofthe linear loaders incorporated a front pivot movably mounted on railsextending transversely of the bridge and substantially parallel to thevessel being loaded and a fixed rear pivot support which included meansfor permitting longitudinal movement of the bridge relative to saidfixed pivot support. Such a construction however, involved alternationin the direction of deflection under load of the rear part of thebridge, requiring special design attention. An alternative embodiment ofthe linear loader has been suggested in the aforementioned patentwhereby the rear pivot support is not fixed but is mounted on railsextending perpendicularly to the front end rails. However, as describedin the aforementioned patent, such an embodiment creates particulardifficulties in continuously feeding a conveyor mounted on the slewingbridge since there is no fixed pivot point at which to feed the conveyormounted on the bridge. For this reason all existing installations,representing an installed base valued at several hundred milliondollars, utilize stationary feeding and a fixed rear pivot support. Anoverview of these existing installations and the design criteriapertinent to each installation is described in an article by theinventor published in Bulk Solids Handling magazine, Vol. 11, No. 1,dated Mar., 1991.

The present invention is directed to solving the feeding problem for alinear loader having the alternate structure described above, namely amovable rear pivot support.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the present invention relates to a linear loader with a movablepivoting rear support, or, as may be interchangeably used throughoutthis application, a linear bridge shiploader or linear shiploader. Alinear shiploader comprises a bridge which is supported at two points, afront end proximate the ship side which is movable along straight linetrack rails substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of thecarrier or ship to be loaded, and a rear end away from the carrier orship. The rear end is also mounted upon rails which are orientedsubstantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the ship orcarrier to be loaded. Both the front and rear supports are capable ofpivotal movement. When the front end of the bridge is moved along therails which run parallel to the carrier, the rear end support isaccordingly forced to pivot while at the same time to move in alongitudinal direction along the perpendicular set of rails togetherwith the rear end of the bridge. Therefore, the rear end of the bridgemoves toward or away from the carrier as the front end moves parallel tothe longitudinal axis of the ship or carrier being loaded. The movementof the pivoting rear end of the bridge is highly complex. The velocity,as well as the motion and the amount of pivotal rotation of the rear endof the bridge varies as a function of both the traversing speed of thefront end as it moves along the front rails and the distance of thefront end support from the approximate center of the front track asmeasured along its shipside length.

Since the bridge is supported at two points fixed thereto at oppositeends thereof, the deflection of the bridge under load is always in onedirection, meaning that there is no stress cycling. This is so becausethe pivot point which is the support point for the rear end of thebridge is at a fixed point on the bridge but movable as the entirebridge moves. This is in contrast to existing commercial embodiments inwhich, in order to have a fixed rear end feed point, the rear pivotpoint remained fixed and the rear end of the bridge pivoted on and movedlongitudinally relative to said fixed rear pivot. In these earliercommercial embodiments, the load bearing point of the rear end of thebridge changed as the bridge moved longitudinally relative to the fixedrear end pivot point. Therefore the overall length or span of the bridgerelative to the front and rear supports varied, making the rear end ofthe bridge at times a part of the span, but at other times a cantilever,since the rear end would in some positions extend past the rear endsupport and hence past the rear end pivot point, whereby to reverse orcycle the direction of stress in said rear end portion.

It should be recognized that the present embodiment of the moving rearpivot results in a span of fixed length and eliminates stress reversal,thereby allowing more cost effective use of materials to construct thebridge. Additionally, in the present commercial versions of linearshiploaders, only the shortest span of the bridge--that is the distancebetween the fixed rear pivot and the front end support when the bridgeis perpendicular to the axis of the ship being loaded--is available toaccommodate the required traversing motion of a superstructure which isnormally movably mounted on bridges of this type. In the currentlypresented version the entire length of the bridge span is availablesince the span length does not vary, thereby allowing for a morebalanced and therefore more economical design of the bridge mountedmovable superstructure.

However, the elimination of a fixed pivot point at which to feedmaterial onto the linear loader creates a problem heretofore unsolved inthe art, namely how to provide continuous material feeding at the rearend of the linear shiploader as the rear end moves longitudinally whilesimultaneously pivoting.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a linearshiploader with a rear end support which is capable of movement in alongitudinal direction while simultaneously pivoting, without changingthe relative point of support along the length of the bridge, that iscapable of being continuously fed from the rear end with material whilethe rear end simultaneously pivots and moves longitudinally asdescribed.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a continuously fedlinear shiploader which may be constructed in accordance with thepresent invention regardless of the orientation of the conveyor whichfeeds the shiploader, commonly referred to as the moving head or shuttleconveyor.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a linearshiploader which has a span of fixed length so as to allow the entirespan to be utilized for the traversing movement of a movablesuperstructure mounted on the bridge.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description considered in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that thedrawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as adefinition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should bemade to the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote similarelements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly schematic and partly diagrammatic, of therear end portion of a slewing bridge shiploader constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the present invention shown inFIG. 1, said bridge mounted conveyor shown oriented in pivoted relationbeneath a conveyor which feeds material thereto;

FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of said invention wherein a conveyor whichfeeds material to the bridge mounted conveyor approaches the bridge atan angle to the direction of travel of the rear pivot support for thelinear bridge loader;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a portion of the embodiment shown in FIG.3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the linear bridge loader; and

FIG. 6 depicts another embodiment of the invention in which conveyorwhich feeds material to the bridge mounted conveyor approaches thebridge substantially in alignment therewith.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings in detail and with initial reference toFIGS. 1 and 5, a material handling apparatus 10 is shown as a shiploader10, more specifically a linear shiploader. The shiploader 10 is capableof loading a ship 200 or other carrier which has a longitudinal axis 210which is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of theshiploader 10. The front portion 120 of shiploader 10 is pivotallysupported on a motor driven support 111 which is movably mounted onrails 110 for powered linear movement in a direction which is generallyparallel to the longitudinal axis 210 of ship 200 to be loaded. The rearend 24 of the bridge 100 is mounted on rear pivot 28 which is mounted ona support structure 26 that is in turn mounted on wheel carriages 34which are rollably mounted on rails 32 which extend in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the rails 110. As the front end 120 isdriven to move along the rails 110, a longitudinal force is exertedalong the bridge 100 which forces the movable rear end 24 of the bridgeto move along rails 32 either toward or away from the ship 200. At thesame time that the longitudinal movement is occurring, slewing orpivoting movement occurs as the rear end 24 pivots on rear pivot 28. Inthe currently preferred embodiment the motive force for the entirestructure is provided by the drive motor in the front end support 111which drives the front portion 120 along rails 110, thereby impartingthe longitudinal and pivotal movement of the rear end 24 through thebody of the bridge itself. It should be recognized that with appropriatecontrols the rear end can be driven independently--but in responseto--the front end, although such a configuration would require controlsystems which are inordinately complex and expensive by today'sstandards, and unnecessary if the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 1 and5 is adopted.

As can be seen best in FIG. 5, the rear pivot 28 moves concomitantlywith the rear end 24 of the shiploader 10. For example, when the bridge100 is in position A perpendicular to vessel 200, the rear end 24 of thebridge 100 is at maximum distance from the ship. As the front end 120 ofthe bridge is driven to move along rails 110 toward right hand positionB (shown in dashed lines in FIG. 5) the rear end 24 of the bridge 100pivots around pivot 28 while the rear end 24 and pivot 28 move linearlytoward the ship along rails 32. The reverse pivotal and longitudinalmovement occurs in driving the bridge 100 from position B to position Aand then in turn to position C. As can be seen, as the front end of thebridge is driven linearly along rails 110 along the length of the ship200 by motor driven support 111, parallel to the longitudinal axis ofthe ship 210, the rear end 24 of the bridge 100 and the pivot 28 aroundwhich the bridge 100 pivots are continuously moving along a longitudinalaxis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the ship210. In turn, a bridge conveyor 20 which is carried upon the bridge 100is also moving longitudinally and pivotally. Conveyor 20 is capable oftransporting solid material, such as, for example, ores, coal andgrains, as well as bags, packages and the like.

In the absence of the present invention, such an arrangement wouldnormally create great difficulty in feeding bridge conveyor 20, sincethe conveyor systems which are used to deliver material to shiploaderssuch as this are massive fixed structures. The present inventionhowever, as will be more fully described hereinafter, provides for amovable transfer point whereby bridge conveyor 20 can be continuouslyfed material while the rear end 24 of the bridge 100 moveslongitudinally and pivotally. This is achieved by mounting a conveyor 14on a movable trestle 12 which is operatively connected to the support 26for the rear end 24 of bridge 100 for concomitant linear movementtherewith and also by providing a hopper 18 and chute 22 which are fixedrelative to the pivot 28, so material may be fed from conveyor 14through the hopper 18 and chute 22 onto the bridge conveyor 20regardless of the movement of the rear end 24 of the bridge 100.

Referring now in greater detail to FIG. 1, the rear end 24 of the bridge100 is pivotally mounted on the support structure 26, via the pivot 28.The pivot 28 may be configured as a spindle, turntable, bearing, orother similar known pivot device for allowing pivotal movement of alarge structure around a fixed pivot point. Rear end 24 pivots on pivot28. The support structure 26 upon which the pivot is mounted is shown asa platform, but may be configured in any physical size or shapeproviding it is capable of supporting the weight of the rear end 24 ofthe shiploader 100. Support structure 26 is movably mounted via wheels34 on rails 32. The rail 32 are oriented in a direction perpendicular tothe longitudinal axis 210 of the ship 200 or other carrier to be loaded.As described, the rear end 24 may move along rails 32 in a directiontoward or away from the ship on said rails. Trestle 12 which carries theconveyor 14 is positioned above the rear end 24 of the bridge 100. Thetrestle is held in elevated position above the rear end 24 of the bridge100 by a support member 16. Adequate clearance is provided betweensupport member 16 and the rear end 24 to accommodate the pivotal motionthereof. The trestle is also movably mounted upon the rails 32 via awheel assembly 36. The trestle is thereby capable of moving in the samedirections as is the rear end 24 of the bridge 100. Preferably theconnection between support structure 26 and the support member 16 is alinking member 30 that is substantially rigid, and therefore when therear end 24 of the bridge 100 moves along rails 32 the trestle 12 movesalong rails 32 in the same manner, and at a fixed distance from the rearend 24 of the bridge 100. The connecting means between support structure26 and support member 16 in lieu of a rigid link 30 may be any othertype of connecting means capable of maintaining support structure 26 andsupport member 16 substantially fixed relative to one another, such as,for example, a tracking system like a servo system, an optical,electromagnetic or electronic tracking system or a computer controlledelectro-mechanical link. Thus, for example, the wheeled support 36 forsupport member 16 may be moved not by a rigid mechanical link but by aseparate drive motor, in which case a tracking system may be employed toactuate said separate drive motor to drive support member 16 back andforth in response to the movement of support structure 26 to maintain afixed relative position between the two. Additionally, the supportstructure 26 may be made large enough to mount support member 16directly upon it to provide concomitant movement therebetween, providedadequate clearance is provided for the pivotal movement of rear end 24.

Conveyor 14 terminates in a hopper 18 which is affixed to trestle 12,and oriented above the pivot 28 at the rear end 24 of the bridge 100.Hopper 18 feeds the chute 22 which is oriented above bridge conveyor 20in alignment with the pivot 28. Chute 22 is preferably mounted on therear end 24 of the bridge 100. Alternatively if so desired, hopper 18and chute 22 can be combined into one single structure affixed to eitherthe trestle 12 or the rear end 24 of the bridge 100, provided a suitablebearing arrangement is interposed between them to enable rotationalmotion of each relative to the other. In any of the previously mentionedconfigurations however, the conveyor 14 will feed material through thehopper 18 and chute 22 onto bridge conveyor 20 continuously since therelative orientation of conveyor 14 and feed point of bridge conveyor20, which lies in alignment with pivot 28, is fixed. This orientation iscontinuous even though the rear end 24 is moving simultaneously linearlyand pivotally, due to the fixed connection between trestle 12 and rearend 24, preferably provided by linkage member 30.

The fixed relative position of conveyor 14 over bridge conveyor 20 canbe seen in FIG. 2. As can be seen the trestle 12 carrying conveyor 14 isoriented above the rear end 24 of the bridge 100 which carries bridgeconveyor 20. As the rear end 24 pivots and moves linearly, the conveyor14 remains continuously oriented over the pivot 28, thereby enablingmaterial to be transferred from conveyor 14 to bridge conveyor 20continuously during the movement of the rear end 24 of the bridge 100.

When the conveyor 14 is oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinalaxis 210 of ship 200 to be loaded, as shown in FIG. 6, should thetrestle 12 which carries conveyor 14 move to the right on rails 32,slack will be formed in conveyor 14 by the movement of the head orterminating end of conveyor 14 backward against the direction of travelof the conveyor. In order to provide continuous tensioning of theconveyor, thereby allowing continuous feeding of the shiploader 10, acombination of fixed and movable pulleys 80 and 82 is employed to varythe effective length of the conveyor 14 and thereby prevent thedevelopment of any slack along conveyor 14 as the rear end of the shiploader 24 moves in a direction away from the ship 200.

FIG. 6 shows trestle 12 being segmented into a movable portion linked torear end support 26 via linkage means 30, and a fixed portion 120 whichsupports the remainder of the conveyor 14. Additionally, a drive housing300 is shown housing a drive system 90 for the conveyor 14. Also locatedin drive housing 300 is pulley 82 which remains in fixed position in thedrive housing 300. Mounted on trestle 12 is pulley 80 which carries aportion of the conveyor 14. As the rear end 24 of the shiploader movesaway from the ship 200, pulley 80 and trestle 12 are moved back topositions 80' and 12' respectively. When the trestle 12 is in position12', the distance between fixed pulley 82 and the trestle mountedmovable pulley 80 in position 80' is equal to the distance which hasbeen travelled by the trestle 12. Therefore, it can be seen that theamount of slack in conveyor 14 which would have formed by the rearwardmovement of trestle 12 is equal to the distance travelled by the trestle12. Accordingly the slack is taken up by the need for the conveyor 14 totravel the additional distance between fixed pulley 82 and the movablepulley 80 in position 80'. This relationship will hold throughout therange of movement of the movable trestle 12, thereby keeping the tensionon conveyor 14 constant as trestle 12 moves to and fro. The rear endportion of trestle 12, which supports movable pulley 80, may besupported by a wheel assembly 110 which rides along the upper surface oftrestle portion 120, or it may be supported for horizontal movement inany other suitable fashion. Further, the drive means 90 may be locatedat any suitable location along the length of conveyor 14, notnecessarily where shown. Additionally, the drive housing 300 whichsupports fixed pulley 82 may, if the drive 90 is located elsewhere, beany suitable housing or support which can maintain the pulley 82 fixedrelative to trestle portion 120.

FIG. 6 depicts an embodiment where the trestle 12 is substantiallyhorizontal. There may also be installations which require the conveyor14 and trestle portion 120 to be lower than depicted in FIG. 6. In suchan instance, the fixed pulley 82 may be mounted at whatever elevation isnecessary. Trestle 12 in such circumstances would slope downward to theappropriate height, and movable pulley 80 would be located at therequired elevation to match the desired height of conveyor 14. As therear end 24 of the shiploader moves rearwardly, the same relationship aspreviously mentioned for the embodiment in FIG. 6 would hold true. Thedistance between fixed pulley 82 and the new position 80' of the movablepulley 80 would equal the distance travelled by the rear end 24 of theshiploader. Therefore, the slack which would normally be formed bymovement of the head end pulley 84 would be taken up by the distancebetween fixed pulley 82 and the new position of the movable pulley 80'.It can be seen that such an arrangement can provide for greatflexibility in the configuration of conveyor 14.

The previously mentioned embodiment is envisioned for use when theconveyor 14 is oriented substantially perpendicularly to thelongitudinal axis 210 of the ship 200 to be loaded. However, there maybe instances when the conveyor which feeds the loader must be at anangle relative to rails 32 in the horizontal plane. In such an instancethe present invention may be configured in an alternate embodiment asillustrated in FIG. 3. This alternate embodiment enables continuousloading of the bridge mounted conveyor during pivotal and longitudinalmovement of the rear end 24 of the bridge from a conveyor systemoriented at an angle other than substantially perpendicular to theorientation of the carrier to be loaded. This is achieved by mountingthe trestle mounted conveyor 14 beneath a primary feed conveyor 50 whichapproaches the rear end 24 of the bridge 100 at an angle to supportrails 32 in the horizontal plane.

Referring to FIG. 3 in detail, a primary feed conveyor 50 approaches therails 32 movably supporting the bridge 100 at some angle in thehorizontal plane, (as can be best seen in FIG. 4). Referring again toFIG. 3, primary feed conveyor 50 is supported on a housing 58. Alsomounted on housing 58 are rails 72 which, via wheel assemblies 74,support the rear end 70 of trestle 12, which is mounted for movementalong rails 72 in a direction substantially parallel to rails 32. Asrear end 24 of the bridge 100 moves along rails 32, the front end oftrestle 12 moves along rails 32 and the rear end 70 of trestle 12 movesalong aligned rails 72 concomitantly with the movement of rear end 24 ofloader 100. Rails 72 are sufficiently long enough to support rear end 70of trestle 12 throughout the entire range of motion of trestle 12.Conveyor 14 is designed to be sufficiently long to remain beneathprimary feed conveyor 50 throughout the entire range of movement oftrestle 12. Primary feed conveyor 50 terminates in a hopper 52 and achute 54. In this manner, continuous feeding from primary feed conveyor50 to trestle mounted conveyor 14 takes place as trestle 12 moves backand forth along rails 32 and rails 72. Conveyor 14 feeds bridge conveyor20 in the same manner as previously described. Therefore, as can be seenin FIG. 4, regardless of the angle of primary feed conveyor 50 relativeto the rails 32, as long as the length of trestle mounted conveyor 14 issufficient to allow it to remain positioned under hopper 52 and chute 54as trestle 12 travels along rails 72 and rails 32, continuous feeding ofthe bridge mounted conveyor 20 is possible.

Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed outfundamental novel features of the invention as applied to preferredembodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the disclosedinvention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. It is the intention, however, therefore, tobe limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for loading bulk material from asupply area onto a carrier having a longitudinal axis, said carrierduring loading being disposed in a substantially fixed predeterminedorientation, said apparatus comprising:a movable trestle extending in afixed predetermined orientation and having a longitudinal axis; a firstbelt conveyor carried by said movable trestle and having a longitudinalaxis in substantial alignment with said longitudinal axis of saidtrestle; an elongated linear shiploader having a longitudinal axis, afront end disposed proximate said carrier, a rear end disposed at adistance from said carrier, means for supporting said front end forpivotal movement and for linear movement parallel to the longitudinalaxis of said carrier, means for supporting said rear end for linearmovement in a direction substantially perpendicular to said longitudinalaxis of said carrier, means for pivotally connecting said rear end tosaid rear end support means for pivotal movement of said rear endrelative to said rear end support means around a fixed pivotal axis ofrotation passing through said rear end and said rear end support meansso as to permit simultaneous linear and pivotal movement of said rearend relative to said carrier, said simultaneous linear and pivotalmovement being a function of the position of said front end relative tothe longitudinal axis of said carrier; a second belt conveyor carried onsaid linear shiploader in substantial alignment with said longitudinalaxis of said shiploader; means for transferring material carried uponsaid first belt conveyor to said second belt conveyor, said transfermeans being mounted proximate said rear end of said elongated linearshiploader on one of said trestle and said linear shiploader, saidpivotal axis passing through said transfer means; and means forconnecting said trestle to said movable rear end support means so thatsaid trestle moves in said direction substantially perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of said carrier concomitantly with and in a fixedposition relative to said movable rear end support means to maintaincontinuous positive registration between said transfer means and saidpivotal axis
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising:at least one pair of rear end parallel rails disposedhorizontally beneath said rear end of said linear shiploader andextending in a direction substantially perpendicular to saidlongitudinal axis of said carrier; and wherein said movable rear endsupport means comprises a plurality of wheels guidedly movable alongsaid rear end parallel rails.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2,further comprising:at least one pair of front end parallel railsdisposed horizontally beneath said front end of said linear shiploaderand extending in a direction substantially parallel to said longitudinalaxis of said carrier; and wherein said movable front end support meanscomprises a plurality of wheels guidedly movable along said front endparallel rails.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein saidmovable trestle comprises:a forward end substantially disposed in anelevated position above said rear end of said linear shiploader; meansfor supporting said forward end of said movable trestle in said elevatedposition above said rear end of said linear shiploader; and a pluralityof wheels mounted on said forward end support means and guidedly movablealong said rear end parallel rails.
 5. The apparatus according to claim4, wherein said connection for linking said trestle to said rear endsupport means comprises a substantially rigid link for connecting saidrear end support means to said movable trestle forward end supportmeans.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said movable frontend support means additionally comprises:means for driving said frontend support means along said front end parallel rails in a directionsubstantially parallel to said longitudinal axis of said carrier, suchthat as said front end is driven to move in said parallel direction saidfront end imparts said simultaneous longitudinal and pivotal movement tosaid rear end of said linear shiploader.
 7. The apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein said transfer means comprises:a hopper having anentrance end and a discharge end, said hopper being mounted on saidtrestle, the entrance end of said hopper being beneath said firstconveyor; and a chute mounted on said rear end of said linear shiploaderhaving an entrance end and a discharge end, said entrance end of saidchute being disposed beneath said discharge end of said hopper, saiddischarge end of said chute being disposed above said second beltconveyor for feeding material from said first belt conveyor, throughsaid hopper and said chute, onto said second belt conveyor.
 8. Theapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising;a third belt conveyorhaving an end portion disposed above said first belt conveyor and havinga longitudinal axis out of substantial alignment with said longitudinalaxis of said first conveyor, said first belt conveyor longitudinal axisbeing in substantially perpendicular relation to said longitudinal axisof said carrier; means for at least partially supporting said third beltconveyor end portion in said position above said first belt conveyor,said last mentioned means permitting the linear movement of said trestlein said direction substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axisof said carrier; and additional means for transferring material fromsaid third belt conveyor to said first belt conveyor, and means formounting said additional transfer means for permitting continuouspositive registration between said additional transfer means and saidfirst belt conveyor.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein saidfirst belt conveyor has an original direction of travel and means fortaking up slack in said first belt conveyor as said trestle movesconcomitantly with said rear end of said linear shiploader, said take upmeans comprising:a first pulley mounted on said trestle for concomitantmovement with said trestle, said first pulley receiving said first beltconveyor and reversing the original direction of travel of said firstbelt conveyor; and a second pulley fixedly mounted independent of saidtrestle for receiving said first belt conveyor from said first pulleyand returning said first belt conveyor to said original direction oftravel, said first pulley and said second pulley being spaced an initialdistance apart when said rear end of said shiploader is at a minimumdistance from said carrier and being spaced apart a distance which isequal to the sum of said initial distance and the distance moved by saidtrestle as said trestle moves concomitantly with said rear end of saidlinear shiploader.